Israel Awareness


NU, SO WHAT’S NEW IN
ISRAEL?

Welcome to the column. Its purpose is to
share information about life in Israel that is
not part of yet another emotional newspaper

headline. Enjoy….


IN GETTING ALONG WITH OUR NEIGHBOURS?.....
By combining modernity and tradition, an NGO active with Bedouins and Jews in the
Negev seeks to advance social and environmental justice for all. Modernity vs.
traditional village life is certainly not an issue unique to Israel, and world history is full
of stories of tension - and worse - that developed from such conflicts. One of this
project’s directors, Raed Al-Mickawi, is eager to set a new precedent: "If we can
develop one village in a manner that will allow modernity and traditional village life to
coexist, we will have built a model that can be duplicated around the Negev, and
around the world," he says. We can and will accomplish that goal, starting with the
building of an old/new, green community center to facilitate community organization.
The center is to be powered by solar energy - the height of modernity - while the
structure itself will be made of mud, in the traditional Bedouin style. The location for
the pilot community center is the Bedouin village of Qasr al-Sir, which is legally
recognized but as yet undeveloped. There is no electricity in the township (except in
the local school), and only one street is paved .The center is slated to be the HQ for
community organization, a place where residents will be encouraged to talk to each
other and to government representatives about their needs and both will be able to
share their vision for the region. Communication is a large part of the problem - both
with the government and within the community itself. Al-Mickawi agrees: "I can see a
situation where residents of a solid mud hut are watching a 50 inch TV hanging on
their wall."

IN YOM KIPPUR FASHION FOOTWEAR? …..

What non-leather footwear did you don this Yom Kippur? Crocs, you say? Oy va voy!
You just violated the latest fashion halacha Rabbi Eliayshiv who banned the popular
rubber shoes for being "too comfortable.”




20 Cheshvan/Kislev 5770
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30